Indicating mechanism.



Patented Oct. l, I901. J, P. COLEMAN.

INDICATING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

No. 683,849. Patented Out. I, l90l. J. P. COLEMAN.

INDICATING MECHANISM.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1900.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR- WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

JOHN PRESSLEY COLEMAN, OF EDGEWOOD PARK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION SWITCH AND SIGNAL COMPANY, OF

SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

INDICATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 683,849, dated October 1, 1901.

Application filed November 14, 1900. Serial No. 36,468. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN PREssLEY COLE- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Edgewood Park, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Indicating Mechanisms, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to certain improvements in indicators, and has for its object a construction and combination of parts or elements whereby the position or condition of two or more devices, mechanisms, &c., may be shown or indicated at a distant point.

The invention is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are diagrammatic views illustrating different forms of my improvement as applied to railroad signaling. Fig. 7 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of a form of indicator; and Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement now employed to indicate to a switchman the conditions existing at a distance from the switch he may wish to shift.

For convenience of illustration and for the reason that my improvements are especially adapted for railroad signaling the improvements are shown and will be described as employed for indicating to a switchman the approach of a train and whether or not the sig nal controlling the track-section in which the switch is located has been shifted by the opening of the switch. The invention is, however, applicable for use whenever indications of the condition of things at a distance is desired. Hence as regards the broader claims herein made the invention is not limited to railroad signaling.

In automatic block-signaling it is highly desirable that a switchman should be positively informed in regard to theapproach of a train to the switch which he intends to open and that the signal controlling the section in which the switch is located has gone to danger position on the opening of the switch and also the cause of the signals position-2'. e.,

I whether it is due to the opening of the switch or the entrance of a train into the section. These indications are especially desirable where the normal danger system is employed and where the signals are not visible from the switches. The manner of indicat-' ing now in use is clearly shown in Fig. 8. As therein shown the mechanism consists of an indicator 1, located at the switch and having its mechanism included in the circuit formed by the wires 2, battery 3, and the armature 4t and contact-points of the relay 5, which isincluded in the track-circuit ot a section in advance of' the section B, in which the switch is located, said track-circuit including, as is customary, the switch-rails, so that the trackcirouit will be broken whenever the switch is opened. A circuit-breaker 6 is also included in this circuit and is located on the signal7, controlling the section B, so that such circuit will be broken when the signal is at danger position. indication at the switch as soon as a train enters upon section A and also as soon as the signal goes to danger position, whether such movement to danger position is effected by the opening of the switch or by the entrance of a train onto the section B. In case the entrance of a train onto section A or the movement of the signal to danger position,due to the entrance of a train onto section B, should be This construction will give an simultaneous with the opening of the switch, which would also tend to move the signal to ing of the switch occurred simultaneously the 5 switchman would probably conclude that the indication was due to the opening of the switch and would therefore hold the train on section A for a considerable time, thereby delaying traffic,'and, further, it might happen that the track-circuit in section B is out of order and that the signal would not respond to the opening of the switch and the entrance of a train onto section A occurred simultaneously the switchman would be under the impression that the signal had responded to the opening of the switch, when in fact it had responded to the entrance of a train onto section A, so that the trainmen would have a clear signal for section B and the switch man would believe that he had entirely protected himself. It will be readily understood that such conditions are utterly unsafe and that some means should be employed whereby such a dangerous conjunction of operations would be impossible. To this end I have devised means whereby the switchman will be positively informed not only as regards the approach of a train to the signal governing section B, but will also be informed as to whether or not the signal has gone to danger through the opening of a switch or by reason of the entrance of a train upon the section controlled by the signal.

I11 the construction shown in Fig. 1 two indicators a and b are located at the switch and are included in separate circuits. The circuit for indicator 1) consists, starting from the battery :r, of a wire 8, indicator 1), wire 9, contact point and armature 40f track-relay 5, and wire 10 to battery. The circuit for indicator (4 consists, starting from battery y, of wire 11, indicator (1, common return-wire 9, and circuit-breaker 12 to battery. This circuitbreaker is so located and arranged as to be opened by the signal or its operating mechanism or connections when the signal is in danger position. In this construction the entrance of a train onto section A in advance of the signal governing section B will open the circuit of indicator 1) and will hold such indicator in danger position as long as the train is upon section A. As soon as the train passes onto section B the signal governing such section it will go to danger, thereby opening the circuit to indicator a, and the indicator will remain in danger position so long as the signal remains in danger position. In this construction the switchman as soon as he opens the indicator will be positively informed as to whether or not a train is upon section A. If the train is on section A, indicator b will be at danger. If the train has entered upon section B, but not passed off of section A, both indicators will be at danger; but if only ais at danger it will show that the train is between the signal and the switch. If the switchman should find both indicators at safety, the opening of the switch would not affect indicator Z), but indicator a should go to danger, due to the movement of the signal of section B to danger on the breaking of the track-circuit of section B by the opening of the switch.

In order to avoid a triple line of wires and the duplication of indicating mechanism, the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 may be emhe may shift his switch with safety.

ployed. This arrangement consists of an indicator, such as shown in Fig. 7, which is included in a circuit consisting of battery at, wires 13 and 14, a circuit-changer 15, and the armature of relay 5. The circuit-changer 15, which is operated by the signal of section B or its operating mechanism or connections, may be of any suitable form or construction whereby the current from battery 00 is caused to flow first in one direction through the indicator and then in the opposite direction, accordin to the position of the circuit-changer. The indicator consists of a box or case 16, in which is located a magnet 17. The polarized armature 18 of this magnet is adapted by suitable connections to shift a disk 19 in front of openings 20 in the case or shell. When there is no train upon sections A or B, the current from battery :1; will flow in such direction through the magnet 17 as to hold the indicating-disk 19 in front of one of the side openings. lVhen the signal is shifted, thereby shifting the circuit-changer, the current will flow in an opposite direction through the polarized magnet and the indicating-disk 19 will be shifted to position in front of the other side opening; but when the circuit of battery m is opened, as by the entrance of a train upon section A, the armature 18 of the polarized magnet will assume a central position and shift the indicating-disk to position in front of the middle opening. It will be understood from the foregoing that when the switchman finds the indicating-disk in front of the All clear opening he will know that The opening of the switch will cause the signal to go to danger, thereby shifting the circuit-changer 15, so that the indicating-disk 19 will be shifted to position in front of the opening marked Danger signal. If while in this position a train should enter section A, short-circuiting the relay 5, the indicating-disk would drop to middle or main position, thereby warning the switch man that a train is being held upon section A.

As shown in Fig. 3, the circuit-changer may be operated by the relay 5 and the circuitbrcaker of the indicator-circuit be operated by the signal of section B. In this construction the relay 5 has two armatures t 4: or two independent contacts on a single armature, and the contact-points are so arranged that when the relay is excited the current from battery so will flow in one direction through the indicating mechanism and when the relay is deenergized the current will flow through the indicating mechanism in an opposite direction. As the circuit-breaker is in this case operated by and in accordance with the signal of section B, the indications received by the switchman will be somewhat different from that in the construction shown in Fig. 2-as, for example, when section A is unoccupied the current will flow through the indicating mechanism in such direction as .to hold the indicating-disk in line with the All clear side opening, and when the train enters upon section A the direction of the current will be reversed, so as to shift the indicating-disk into line with the Danger signal opening. \Vhen the signal goes to danger, either through the opening of the switch or the entrance of a train upon section B, the indicator will go to middle or train position, the circuit through magnet 17 being broken at the circuit-breaker 12. The arrangement shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are substantially similar as regards result, except that in the former an indication is given to the switchman, even when the switch is open, as to the entrance of a train upon section A, whereas in the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 no such indication is given:

In the construction shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the relay 5 is shown at the end of the section A away from the signal of section B. In order to avoid expense of wire, the relay 5 may be arranged at the end of section A adjacent to the signal and the track-circuit of section A may be normally open,as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

My improvement is readily applicable for other purposes in railroad signaling-as, for example, it may be employed in connection with mechanical switch and signal mechanism to indicate to the towerman the position of signals not visible from the tower and also to indicate to the towerman whether or not the signal-light is in proper condition at night. The construction and arrangement suitable for this purpose are shown in Fig. 6, and consist, as therein shown, of a circuit-changer22 upon the signal-post, operated by the signal, and a circuit-breaker controlled by a thermostat 21, arranged in such relation tothe lamp that while the lamp is burning the expansion member of the thermostat will hold the circuit-breaker closed. In this construction the indicating-disk 19 of the indicator will show by its position in front of one or the other of the side openings 20.the position of the switch and by its shifting to position in front of the middle opening would indicate that the lamp is out. It is preferred that the circuit-changer should be connected to the signal-blade itself, so that the towerman will be notified as to whether or not the signal has gone fully to either one of its positions. This is especially desirable, for the reason that it sometimes hap pens that in mechanical signal apparatus the connections to the signal become so changed through changes of temperature or otherwise that the signal blade will not assume its proper positions. It is true that the failure of the signal to go to full position, either up or down, will give an indication similar to that given by the going out of the light. That, however, is immaterial, as the attention of the towerman is necessary in either case. In order that the indicating mechanisms may op erate to show the positions of the signal in the day-time, a switch 23 is so arranged in the indicator-circuit that the lam p-tender can close the circuit, which would be opened on the re moval of the lamp. This switch of course would be opened as soon as the lamp is placed in position and the thermostat expanded sufficiently to close the circuit.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. The combination of an indicating 1neohanism constructed to give two or more difierent indications or signs, two or more circuits operating or controlling the indicating mechanism, and independent and separated means for independently operating the circuit-com trollers, substantially set forth.

2. A combination of a polarized indicating mechanism, two circuits for operating or controlling the indicating mechanism, a circuitchanger in one circuit,and a circuit make-andbreak mechanism in the other circuit, and separated means independently operating the circuit-changer and make-and-break mechanism, substantially set forth.

3. The combination of an automatic signal, a polarized indicating mechanism, circuits for operating or controllingthe indicating mechanism, a circuit-changer and a circuit make-and-break mechanism included in said circuits, one of said circuit-controllers being adapted to be shifted by the signal and the other by train movements in advance of the signal, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN PRESSLEY COLEMAN.

Witnesses:

DARWIN S. WOLCOTT, F. E. GAITHER. 

